17 February 2022
Judo and BJJ are essentially different sides of the same coin. Where in Judo, emphasis is based on throwing techniques, kuzushi, and the ability to unbalance our opponent, BJJ puts heavy emphasis on the newaza (groundwork) elements of the art, winning by submissions. Training and competing in both certainly helps to create a broad understanding of grappling.
Alessandro pushed himself to compete in the biggest tournament of his career so far, the European BJJ Championships in Rome. The tournament attracted competitors from across Europe as well as Brazilian and American citizens residing in Europe. With categories in age, weight and belt class, the tournament had something for all. Alessandro competed in the -76kg category. This by itself shows the commitment he has for his training as he was considerably heavier a few years ago when he joined us.
Ultimately losing the final to a french competitor with a reverse arm bar submission, he comes home with a very respectable 2nd place, lots of experience and a knowledge of what is presently working and what is not under pressure. As a team we will all benefit from his experiences and observations.
This medal represents his hard work ethic, good attitude towards progression, and all the challenging training over the past few years. Everyone at the club are immensely proud of him.
Congratulazioni Alessandro!
